Which Musicians will Star in 2017?

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Solo Dre.

2016 was a year in years. In 2016, several unprecedented things happened with each having far reaching consequences on the state of our music industry.

2016 kicked off with political campaigns that almost tore the music fraternity apart. Several musicians publicly supported politicians and this became a problem in the eyes of some members of the public and some politicians alike. But thank God, the industry weathered through the campaigns and elections.

Then, most of the big and very established artistes struggled to have massive hit songs. While this was happening; several young, new and mid-level artistes shone.

David Lutalo was Artist of the Year and Best Male Artist HiPipo Music Awards – HMA2016

At the end, 2016 will be remembered as the year; David Lutalo establishment himself as an artiste for the whole of Uganda, Sheebah topped charts and got international nods, Eddy Kenzo and Bebe Cool continued their battle for supremacy and better performance at the continental level while Ziza Bafana and Winnie Nwagi showcased potential of becoming the next biggest things. Plus, several new and young artistes broke through with massive singles, and collaborations. In brief, and on the positive side of things, that was 2016.

Here is 2017. It is already 16th January; meaning we have 11 months and two weeks to end 2017. So which musician/s will rock 2017?

Several factors have to be looked at and several questions asked.

Can Sheebah Karungi maintain her 2016 form in 2017? Can Sheebah Karungi outperform herself in 2017?

Can Bebe Cool have songs bigger than either Love You Every day or Kabulengane or the international and local markets respectively? Can Bebe Cool have videos at the same quality level or better than Love You Every day?

Will Eddy Kenzo release a song bigger than Sitya Loss? Can Eddy Kenzo use his current continental position and connections to release projects that will sell across the continent?

Can David Lutalo fast-track his plan to grow in to an East African and later African superstar? Can he consolidate his local performance with better sound and improved videos?

Can Ziza Bafana be consistent throughout the year instead of being massive for 7 months and rest for 5 months? Can Ziza Bafana and his management invest more in quality video production?

What next for Winnie Nwagi? Can she now concentrate on taking over the number one spot among female performers? Or can she focus on music for ‘introductions and weddings’? Perhaps she should concentrate on doing both.

Now those are some of the hard questions that the aforementioned artistes should answer with actions not words. We have heard their stories, promises and plans. 2017 is for walking the talk.

And before I forget, Radio and Weasel are working on a major return to the top in 2017. So long as these two are still working together, you can never rule them out. They have the potential and ability to rock with the big boys on the continent. It is a public secret that the dynamic duo of Radio and Weasel has a full album ready to release with its first single Plenty Plenty having a good share of power play at the end of 2016. Moses Radio alone also has a full gospel album ready to release. The products are available and the guys are working hard. But; do they have enough financial capital to invest in these projects (great videos and marketing)? What are their managers doing to source for serious capital injection and connections to propel these projects higher?

Juliana Kanyomozi is also working on a mega come back. She has confirmed this. We further know that she is working on a few videos with South African producers. All this is good news to the ears of those that love Ugandan music. But; is she committed to competing aggressively? Is she willing to spend on great video production and strong marketing for her works?

Dr Jose Chameleone also has a new album underway. He also has a mega concert in May 2017. His latest single; sweet banana is growing each passing day. Will 2017 be his year? Is he ready to invest in becoming bigger than what he is already or he is happy with maintaining the status quo?

Bobi Wine; the Ghetto President, the voice of the voiceless, the member of parliament to be! Can Bobi Wine give music more time than politics in 2017?

On the other side of things, there are several other established, young and new artistes that are pushing for bigger things in 2017. There will definitely be several surprises in the form of new break through artistes and some established artistes losing ground to others.